A jury has awarded a $2.06 billion verdict to a couple who successfully argued that Roundup ingredients are a toxic combination that caused their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

According to Reuters, plaintiffs Alberta P. and Alva P. said they sprayed Roundup on the grounds of their properties from 1975 to 2011. They said their regular spraying of Roundup gave rise to lymph system cancer in both of them. Although they are both currently in remission, the trial date was accelerated in case either one of them experienced a relapse and because of the possibility one or both could pass away.

The California jury announced its verdict on May 13, 2019. The jury determined that Monsanto hid unflattering information and acted with malice, fraud or oppression according to Law360.

As a result of their findings, the jury awarded $18 million in compensatory damages and $1 billion in punitive damages to Alva. Alberta was awarded $37 million in compensatory damages and $1 billion in punitive damages.

More than 13,400 lawsuits alleging Roundup causes cancer are making their way through the United States court system.

Issue is Roundup Ingredients

Most Roundup lawsuits have focused on glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in the weed killer. Glyphosate has been traditionally blamed as a cancer-causing agent because it is the only active ingredient listed and because the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified it as a probable carcinogen since 2015.

In the recent lawsuit, a greater emphasis was placed upon the active ingredient glyphosate’s interaction with inert ingredients, which include POEA.

A toxicologist named William Sawyer testified that POEA is a surfactant that is 40 times more toxic than glyphosate. He said when the two ingredients are combined, they are exponentially more toxic. In fact, he said POEA becomes 50 times more toxic when mixed with glyphosate.

POEA is added to Roundup to allow the liquid product to soak in and coat waxy leaves rather than bead up and roll off the leaves. POEA has been banned in the European Union. The lawsuit’s jury was the first to be told of the ban in Europe.

Back in 2002, a study by scientist Julie Marc showed that Roundup interfered with the cellular cycles of sea urchins. When sea urchins were exposed to glyphosate alone, no alteration of cellular cycles occurred.

A 2005 study by researcher Francisco Peixoto found that glyphosate by itself was less toxic and less harmful to rat livers than Roundup’s formulation was.

According to DetoxProject, even people have been found to suffer DNA damage, allegedly from exposure to Roundup. Brazilian soybean workers were found to suffer genetic damage. People in Ecuador who were exposed to aerial spraying of glyphosate-based herbicides were found to have a greater degree of DNA damage in their blood cells compared to a control population.

German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer AG bought Monsanto in June 2018. At that time, there were approximately 3,600 Roundup lawsuits alleging Roundup ingredients caused cancer. As noted earlier, now more than 13,400 outstanding cases are working through the U.S. court system.

If you or a loved one developed cancer after using Roundup as a farm worker or home gardener, you may have a legal claim. Legal migrant farm workers may also seek help. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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